----- Original Message -----
From: "Sarah Murray" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Wednesday, July 27, 2005 5:22 PM
Subject: Re: TEACHSOC: Relationships with students
Tell them that after they graduate it might be appropriate for you to
have a more social relationship with them, but while they are students and
you are a professor at the same institution, the administration frowns on
fraternizing. Make it sound as if your hands are tied because of the
parameters of your profession.
Definitely you will find this problem will lessen as you get older. At
25, I had high school students, whom I then taught, wanting to be
friends, but at 48, most of my upper classmen university students see me
more as a parental figure. I, too, am friendly and somewhat casual, but I
make sure the conversations focus on something sociological, even in
personal e-mail exchanges w/a former student over her divorce. But I do
think students should see relating to professors as an integral part of
their lives -- that's what will help them love school and the field.
I think you hint that one student is looking for romance. That's easy to
get out of, by referring to the boundaries of your job -- unless you are
interested, and then just tell her she can't be a student of yours in the
future!
Sarah Murray
William Paterson University of NJ
----- Original Message -----
From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, July 27, 2005 12:27 PM
Subject: TEACHSOC: Relationships with students
I'm sure I can anticipate a lot of the responses that I'll get to this
question,
but I've wondered if other people have had this experience and how they
have
dealt with it in a way that they were comfortable with. I'm a relatively
young
teacher (only 26) and so, especially the community college level where I
teach,
I'm not much older (sometimes even younger) than most of my students. As
a
general rule, I take a very casual and friendly approach to teaching and
my
students (which gets me into some problems with trying to maintain
authority,
but I've as yet not have anything major problems in that regard). My
problem
is that now that the summer term is coming to an end, I suddenly have two
students (so far) who are expressing an interest in maintaining a
friendship
with me after class ends (and in one case, perhaps more). How do I deal
with
this?
Thanks!
Adair
